SHO should be no-go in Laguna

Civil rights in Laguna Beach are under siege in the name of child safety. State and local civil servants, police and an overzealous school board are trying to force the City Council to pass a poorly constructed “social host ordinance” that would allow police to bypass state laws already prohibiting adults from providing alcohol to minors. In the process, the self-righteous elected and civil servants may be breaking the law in more serious ways than the crimes they are attempting to prevent.

SHO laws allow police broader discretion to write tickets to and arrest adults who provide alcohol to minors. While the intent may be good, it creates broader jurisdiction for police and loosens state controls on power.

There's a good reason Andy Griffith only gave Barney Fife one bullet.

When high school students organized a free-speech rally at school protesting the ordinance last spring, they claimed that they were told they would be suspended if they held the rally.

Why wouldn't school officials encourage public discussion about local legislation at school?

More recently, Police Chief Paul Workman, hosted a “town hall” to have public discussion and debate on the proposed SHO language he had drafted. He instructed pro-SHO supporters not to show up in a private email. At the meeting, Workman dismissed specific criticisms of the proposal by a local juvenile defense attorney, a federal legislative attorney and a barrage of facts and statistics by students and experts on SHO.

SHOs have been passed in 30 states. They have become the focus of a federal government super agency, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) which has an annual budget of $3.4 billion and has positioned itself as the lead government agency on alcohol abuse.

The good news is that prevention and education programs fighting alcohol abuse and drug abuse are working well. The bad news is that SHO laws are hurting progress and are being challenged in court.

Helene Epstein maintains an excellent website about SHO effectiveness at
socialhostlaw.wordpress.com. Facts from a long-range study on adolescent drinking called Monitoring the Future show that, “[A]cross the board, major government, university and national statistics show that alcohol use and binge drinking among high school students has declined steadily over the past three decades, and continues to decline annually.”

Epstein also points out that there is strong evidence that SHO laws have had little impact to decrease drinking or partying. Worse, they actually decrease 911 calls for drug- and alcohol-related emergencies when teens need help.

SHO laws are dangerous for teens, making it more problematic for them to seek help when they need it.

Facts, statistics and an upset public aren't stopping city officials in Laguna Beach. After the school board passed a resolution supporting the SHO, a lobbying group, the Laguna Beach Community Coaltion, has been working behind the scenes to push it through.

Families in Laguna Beach don't need a social host ordinance, but they do need a responsive local government that respects the sovereignty of the people they serve.

David Vanderveen is a Laguna Beach resident, husband, father and energy-drink entrepreneur. His email is david@incfarm.com.

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